PREP FOOTBALL: Loachapoka’s season ends at Brantley

BRANTLEY — The life of an offensive lineman isn’t one of glamour.

Their role is often overlooked, and the only attention they normally get is when they’ve done something wrong.

However, in Friday night’s Class 1A semifinal game at Bulldog Stadium, the big uglies up front helped Brantley punch its ticket to next week’s Super 6 in Tuscaloosa as the Bulldogs trounced Loachapoka, 41-14.

Brantley will face Hackelburg (14-0) Thursday at 3 p.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium as the Bulldogs seek their third state championship.

Brantley had four backs rush for more than 80 yards in racking up 389 yards on the ground, as the Bulldogs scored on all four first-half possessions.

“The key tonight was the way our offensive line allowed us to move the ball,” Brantley head coach David Lowery said. “We kept making first downs in critical situations, and that allowed us to keep their playmakers off the field.”

Loachapoka, making its first appearance in the semifinals after downing top-ranked Sweet Water last week, never could find any offensive rhythm in the first half.

“We just got whipped up front and that surprised me,” Indians head coach Jerome Tate said. “I thought we would be able to stop them, but we couldn’t. They deserved to win and I hope they go on and win the state to represent the southern part of the state.”

Leading the charge for Brantley in the trenches were Richard Sims, Jared Hall, Dillion Motes, Jesse Haveard and Austin Mitchell.

“Those guys dominated up front,” said Bulldog quarterback Chase Hall. “They made our job easy and it feels great to be going to Tuscaloosa.”

Devante Porter led the way for Brantley with 122 yards on 14 carries, while Derek Holley added 94 yards on 18 tries.

Teven Daniels chipped in with 85 yards on six carries with two touchdowns on the ground and one receiving, while Hall picked up 81 yards on 11 carries.

Brantley scored on the opening drive when receiver Tory Upshaw took a pitch on a reverse and tossed the ball to Daniels from 15 yards out on third-and-10 for the score.

Loachapoka (11-2) moved the ball near midfield on the ensuing drive. On third-and-1, Brantley’s Jared Hall tackled Indian quarterback Patrick Moore for a 1-yard loss before Moore threw an incompletion on fourth to turn the ball over.

“We went for it there because we believed in our defense if we didn’t make it,” Tate said. “We thought we would be able to stop them.”

The Bulldogs cashed in on the opportunity, overcoming a pair of holding penalties in the process, to go up 14-0 when Upshaw made a leaping catch on a 12-yard fade pass from Hall in the back of the end zone on the first play of the second quarter.

“Throwing a touchdown was fun, but making that catch was bigger to me,” Upshaw said. “That really gave us some momentum.”

The Bulldogs finished the half scoring twice more in the final 5 minutes. Daniels went in from 13-yards for his second score and Hall capped a six-play drive by bulling in from 3 yards out with 15 seconds left in the half.

Loachapoka tried to make things interesting by cutting the margin to 28-7. Moore, who rushed for 71 yards on 12 carries, scampered 46 yards for the Indians on their opening possession of the second half.

Brantley then removed any hope for Loachapoka, holding the ball for 7 minutes on a 13-play, 70-yard drive that was capped by Daniels final score from 7 yards out.

“This is big for our program to be going back to the finals,” Lowery said. “A lot of these guys won a state championship last spring in baseball, so I think it’s helped us. Even though it’s a different sport, it’s given us a confidence to play in games like this that mean so much.”

Brantley finished the night with 482 yards of total offense and had 26 first downs. Hall was 8-of-8 passing for 78 yards.

Loachapoka wound up with 266 yards on the night. Moore completed 10-of-18 passes for 155 yards and an interception. Quindravius Richardson caught three passes for 69 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown strike in the final minutes.